Hey folks,

Anyone using a tailgater for highish heat cooking? Steaks etc? Wondering how hot you can get.

thanks

I haven’t had mine for 2-3 years now, but it seems like 450 was about tops under ideal conditions. No wind, minimal opening, etc. Seems like 375-425 was more common. With GrillGrates you might do alright though.

Purely from my poor memory, maybe someone else has more recent input.

about 435 is the hottest I have got mine.  With steaks I generally reverse sear then toss them on a lit charcoal chimney to finish.

I've had mine up to around 450 with B&B pellets, but it was summer and Texas hot.

Yeah, I'm similar. Mine almost always goes to 456. Almost always 

Can you get any sear/crust on a steak with that temp?

If you’re not expecting direct flame charcoal type results, I’m searios about the GrillGrates. Next to the coals, Traeger Texas with GrillGrates has made the next best steaks for me. I’ve used gas, pellet, and charcoal all for searing. Best ever were Primes sous vide and seared over coals though. But if you want an affordable grill that smokes and grills both a tailgater with GrillGrates is a decent option. Or by a tailgater and a kettle (I know gasp on this site for mentioning a kettle and a Traeger both).

I had a junior (basically a tailgater without the folding legs)

I have no problem hitting 500-550
And when I ran lumberjack charred hickory pellets I could routinely see 600+ on the dome thermometer

Keep in mind I did not have a digital controller
Just the smoke medium and high

After a couple years of doing this pretty routinely
I did notice that the paint was failing,
My fire pot was falling apart, and I’d actually burn through my heat shield

I read somewhere the painter supposed to be good for up to about 600°


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk